Rolling door mechanism



Nov. 3, 1936., H. G. KELLY 2 9 ROLLING DOOR MECHANISM Filed Feb. 27,1932 v a [I m J T m 11 Ii I r 26 g 8111mm 17 .2 Fg'y y 71 W PatentedNov. 3, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 9 Claims.

The present invention relates to a movable support of the rollers of asectional door and a means for moving such a door laterally at the endof its downward closing motion.

The objects of the present invention, among others, include thefollowing:

An improved hinged support; for the spindles of rollers associated withthe sections of a door moving outwardly and-downwardly to close anopening in a wall.

A new spring attachment to said hinged support to hold the door inwardlyaway from frictional contact with the frame of said door opening exceptwhen counteracted by a superior force.

A new means of overcoming such inward spring action on a door andimparting instead an outward lateral displacement of the door intocontact with the stops of a door frame at the end of the closingmovement of the door.

A new hinged roller support for a sectional door assuring level supportof the open door and movable support in its final closing and initialopening movement.

The cooperation of the above means with a countcrbalancing meansdescribed in a pending application of the applicant and of Serial Number525,572.

These and such other objects of the invention as may hereinafter appear,are obtained by the novel construction, unique arrangement, and improvedcombination of the elements illustrated in the accompanying single sheetof drawings disclosing several forms of the invention, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a door opening and door therefor,illustrating the method of incorporating the present invention intoassembly therewith;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view of the, present invention in sideelevation and illustrating details of assembly;

Figure 3 is an enlarged view taken in perspective of a rollerconstruction for the uppermost door section showing its engagement withthe track and deflecting means incident to a closed position of thedoor;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a roller construction for a lower doorsection as engaged with a track;

Figure 5 is an orthographic projection oi the roller construction shownin Figure 4 as viewed from the side:

Figure 6 is a side view of an arm member 01' the invention and shown inbroken elevation;

Figure 7 is an orthographic projection of the arm member shown in Figure6 taken normal to that view; c

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a cam plate illustrating its positionassumed when the door is in the open position; and V Figure 9 is aperspective view of the cam plate shown in Figure 8, illustrating itsposition assumed when the door is in the closed position.

Like reference characters are used to designate similar parts in thedrawing and in the description of the invention which follows.

The invention is adapted particularly for use in a garage or anindustrial building having a relatively low ceiling.

In a wall it] of a building having a relatively low ceiling (not shown)is shown a door opening ii bounded on three sides by frame members i2carrying stops i3 having a face It opposed to a sectional door i5 forclosing the door opening I l on either side of the door opening II andhave a face I! opposed to the lateral edges of the closed door l5.

Door l5 consists of an uppermost section it and lower sections l9 joinedtogether by hinges 20. For guiding the movement of door l5 from avertical position, in which the door opening ii is closed, upwardly andinwardly to an horizontal position above the door opening I l, is atrack M on either side 01 the door opening ii. The track consists of avertical track section 22, a continuing curved track section 23, and ahorizontal track section 24, the latter being for the support of thedoor l5 in its open position.

Within track 2i is an uppermost roller associated with the uppermostdoor section i 8. Other rollers 26, associated with door sections it andMarc also associated with the track;

In Figures 1, 2, 4 and 5 is shown a movable support 21 for lower rollers26 of door sections it and i9. Rollers 26 are adapted to rotate freelyon the spindles 28 extending into the sleeve 29 of a hinge member 30carrying an opposed parallel sleeve 3i. Sleeves 29 and Ill of said hingeare connected by a fiat member 32. Within sleeve M is a spindle 33passing through opposed holes 34 in wings 35 of a bracket 36 secured tolower door sections l9 and the lower portion of the uppermost doorsection It. A stop edge 3i is articulated from the bracket 36 to abutthe hinge leaf 32 in its pivotal movement to limit the movement of thedoor l5 toward spindle 28 at a predetermined distance from said spindle.

Bracket 36 carries a spring 38 with one end 39 In Figures 1, 2 and 3 isshown a movable support 42 for the upper portion of uppermost doorsection I8.

In movable support 42 there is an uppermost roller 25 adapted to rotateon a spindle 28a held by a hinge member 38a. Comprising the movablesupport 42 is a bracket 42a and a spring 42b similar to the brackets 36and springs 38 of movable supports 2'I, the main difference being thatthe flat member 32a of the uppermost hinge member 38a may be wider thanflat member 32 of the hinge members 30. The stop edges 31 of allbrackets 36 and the stop edges 31a of the bracket 42a are placed at thesame distance from door I5.

It will be noted that there is room for very little lateral movement ofthe rollers 25 and 26 within the track sections 22, 23 and 24 so thatthe hinged connection of rollers 25 and 26 with door I5 provides for alateral movement of door I5 relative the track sections. Normally allsections of the door I5 are held parallel to track sections 22 or 24 bythe action of the springs 38 and 4227 as limited by stop edges 31 and31a.

It is also evident that the projection of the spindles 28 and 28a intosleeves 29 and 29a respectively is telescopic whereby lateral expansionor contraction of door I5 may be readily accommodated.

Uppermost hinge member 30a of movable support 42 carries perpendicularto the outer edge of the section 32a a fiat member 44. The member 44 isperforated with a hole 45 to receive a spindle 28a, and another hole 46to receive a spindle 33a. Flat member 44 carries along one edge aperpendicular flange 41 having a face 48 inclined downwardly toward theplane of the member 32a.

For contacting with the outer face 48 of flange 41 is a roller 49adapted to rotate on a spindle 50. The latter may be secured to thetrack section 23 or to the wall II) as desired. The spindle 50 is to belocated a greater distance from door I5 than is the track section 23. Asthe closing motion of the door I5 nears completion, the outward face 48contacts with the roller 49 to impart an outward motion to the uppermostspindle 33a and uppermost bracket 36a to pivot them about the spindle28a. This pivoting motion is had against the urge of the spring 42b andresults in the forcing of the upper portion of the uppermost doorsection I8 outwardly into weatherproof contact with faces I4 of stopsI3.

Commencing with the initial upward and opening movement of door I5 theoutward pressure imparted to the uppermost door section l8 by theangular contact of the angularly inclined face 48 of the flange 41 isgradually lessened to permit the inward urge of the spring 42b of themovable support 42 to draw the uppermost door section away from thestops I3.

A means for counteracting the force of the springs 38 and for forcinglower door sections I9 and the lower portion of uppermost door sectionI8 outwardly into contact with the stops I3 at the completion of theclosing movement of door I5 is shown in Figures 1, 2, 6, '7, 8 and 9.

Attached to face ll of frame member I6 opposite upper door section I8 isa strike plate 52 having a perpendicular flange 53 on its lower edge.Strike plate 52 furnishes a lug 54 for the anchorage of one end 55 of aspring 56 having another end 51 anchored to a movable arm 58 extendingdownwardly of the strike plate 52. The contractual movement of thespring 56 is limited by the abutment of the flange 53 with a similarflange 59 along the upper edge of movable arm 58.

Projecting at intervals from a face 60 of movable arm 58 which isopposed to the lateral edge of a closed door I5 are pins 6|. Pins 6|extend through slots 62 of cam plates 63 which are rotatable aboutpintles 64 of attachment plates 65 secured to face I! of frame I6.

Extending perpendicularly from a face 66 of each cam plate 63 to projectadjacently behind the face of a closed door I5 is a pin 61. The pin 61is positioned below slot 62 and the pintle 64. In all cases the pintle64 is located beyond the slot 62 toward the door opening I I.

It will be noted that any downward motion of movable arm 58 will imparta rotating motion to cam plate 63 about pintle 64 by means of theengagement of the moving pin 6I with the lower edge 68 of the slot 62.Said rotating movement of the cam plate 63 about the pintle 64 locatedupward and outward the pin 61 imparts to said pin 61 an outward motiontoward the door opening II.

A downward movement is imparted to movable arm 58 at the completion ofthe closing movement of door I5 by the contact of the spindle 69 of thelowermost roller 26 with an upper edge III of an horizontal extension IIconfiguring the lower end of the movable arm'58.

The extended end 13 of each pin 61 extends inwardly beyond the lateraledge I4 of door I5 when the door is in a vertical position. During theinitial major portion of the closing movement of the door I5, said doorpasses between the pins 61 and the door stops without frictional contactwith either.

When the closing movement of door I5 nears completion spindle 69, whichprojects inwardly beyond the sleeve 29, makes contact with the edge I0of the aforesaid extension 'II to force said movable arm 58 downwardly.This downward movement of the arm results in a rotation of cam plates 63whose pins 61 are thereby moved outwardly to first contact the innerface 15 of door I5 and then force the door outwardly against the urge ofthe springs 38 and into weatherproof contact with faces I4 of stops I 3.The action just described takes place coincidentally and in fullco-operation with the previously described lateral closing motion of theupper portion of door section I8.

Contact plates 16 may be attached to face 15 of door I5 at each pointfor contact by the pins 61 therewith to prevent damage to said door bysaid pins.

Commencing with the initial opening movement of the door I5 the downwardpressure of lowermost spindle 69 on extension II of movable arm 58 isgradually released thus permitting the spring 56 to raise the movablearm 58 until flange 59 of said movable arm contacts with flange 53 ofthe strike plate 52. The upward movement of the movable arm 58 impartsto all cam plates 63 a rotating motion in a direction opposite to thateffected during the final closing movement of door. Hence there occursan inward motion of the pins 61 to release the force counteracting theoutward force of the springs 38 on the door I5; said door then beingdrawn inwardly by said springs 38 away from its contiguous position withfaces I4 of the stops I3.

The release of the force counteracting the inward force of lower springs38 during the initial opening movement of door I5 just described takesplace coincidently and in full co-operation with the release of theforce counteracting the urge oi uppermost spring 38, whereby allsections l8 and is are withdrawn from the stops l3 simultaneously.

As the opening movement of the door l5 continues, the contact of thelowermost spindle 89 with extension ll of movable arm 58 and also thecontact of pins 61 with contact plates 16 of door surface 15 is brokenand the forces counteracting all springs 38 being thereby removed theresultant inward movement imparted to all sections i8 and IQ of door i5continue under the impingement of theirrespective springs 38 and 421)until said inward movement is stopped by the contact of the stop edges31 and 31a with th respective pintled members-32 and 32a.

The hinged members 32 and 82a which are drawn by springs 38 and 42b intorespective con tact with stop edges 31 and 31a, which are located auniform distance from door I5, makes it evident that the supportingrollers 25 and 26 carried by the hinged members will be an equaldistance from all door sections. This provides that the door i5 will besupported, while in its open position, in an undistorted plane parallelto the horizontal track section 24.

In the application of the described closing means for the doorsectionsi9, the movable arm 58 is placed upright a predetermined distance fromthe floor.

with the flange 59 of the movable arm 58 and spring 56 is co-anchored tothe strike plate 52 and the movable arm 58.

Cam plates 63 are placed with their slots 82 circumjacent to the pins 6iand have an edge ll perpendicular to face Id of the vertical stop l3when said door is open, said perpendicular edge 11 being a guide for theapplication of attachment plates 65 in uniform relation.

In Figure 1 the effective weight of door i5 is shown counterbalanced bya counterbalancing means fully described in the before noted and pendingapplication of the applicant, Serial Number 525,572. In the presentinstance a cable having one end Bi secured to a lower portion of thedoor i5 winds on a drum 82 coincidently with the unwinding of anothercable 83 from the drum 84, the latter rotating only in unison with drum82. The free end 85 of cable 83 is secured to one end 86 of anextensiblespring 81 whose other end 88 is anchored to a fixed support89.

What I claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. A building having a door opening, tracks at each lateral side of saidopening and extending normal thereto above said opening, a door for saidopening and carried by said track, said door being adapted to be alignedwith said opening, and a door closing mechanism comprising a roller forengaging said track, a bracket attached to said door and providing astop edge, a link hingedly connected to said bracket and providing ajournal for said roller, and a spring urging said door and link to swingtogether whereby said door is urged toward said track, said stop edge,when said door is not in aligned position with said opening beingdisposed to abut said link to preclude said door from coming intocontact with said track under the urge of said spring, and a pluralityof cam means pivoted about an axis which bears a fixed relation to thedoor opening, said cam means being engageable with the door whereby tourge said door horizontally forward against the door opening.

Strike plate 52 is attached to frame member I8 with its flange 53 incontact 2. A building having a door opening, a sectional rolling door, adoor closing mechanism in associationwith said door for closing saiddoor opening,-

and a track for guiding said door, said door closing mechanismcomprising a bracket attached to each door section, rollers afllliatedwith said track, hinged connecting means between said roll-' ers andsaid brackets, springs, and a stop on said brackets, said springs urgingsaid hinged connecting means to pivot about the connection thereof tosaid roller to urge said door toward said track when said door isnotaligned with said door opening, and said stops being disposed foroperation independently of said track to interrupt the movement 01' allof said door sections at an equal distance from said track whereby saidsections assume a plane parallel to horizontally forward against thedoor opening.

3. A building having a door opening, a sectional rolling door, a doorclosing mechanism in association with said door, and a track for saiddoor, said door closing mechanism comprising a bracket attached to eachdoor section, rollers affiliated with said track, hinged connectionsbetween said rollers and said brackets and providing journals for saidrollers, a bracket on said building, and a roller on said bracket, thesaid last mentioned roller engaging the hinge member on the uppermostdoor section to arrange said hinge member normally to said track wherebyto project the upper section of said door into alignment with theremaining sections thereof when the door is in vertical position.

4. A building having a door opening, a door comprising superposed hingedsections for closing such opening, a track for guiding the severalsections of said door from an open horizontal position above suchopening to a substantially vertical position in a plane adjacent suchopening, the plane of the uppermost door section being angular to theplane of the several lower sections of the door as the door approaches aposition of registry with such opening, means for deflecting the severallower sections of the door in unison and in a single plane in thedirection of the door opening as such position of registry is attained,and means for angularly moving said uppermost door section into sealingengagement with said opening during the movement of said door intoregistry with such opening, said uppermost section of said door havingthereon a bracket, a member pivoted to said bracket and having a guideroller journalled therein, said guide roller being disposed in saidtrack, resilient means upon said bracket and urging said pivoted memberangularly to normally maintain said uppermost door section away fromsaid door opening as the door is closed, and means limiting the movementof said door section under the urge of said resilient means, said meansfor angularly moving said uppermost door section comprising a guidemeans independent of said door and having a member for engaging saidpivoted member coincidentally with the movement of the door intoregistry with such opening to change the angularity of said pivotedmember relatively to said door section against the urge of saidresilient means, the change in angularity between said pivoted memberand said door section causing the latter to move into a sealing positionwith said door opening.

Bil

5. A building having a. door opening, a door having superposed hingedsections for closing such opening, a track for guiding the severalsections of said door from a horizontal open position above such openingto a substantially vertical position in a plane adjacent to suchopening, the plane of the uppermost door section being angular to theplane of the several lower sections of the door as the door approaches aposition of registry with such openings, means for deflecting theseveral lower sections of the door laterally into sealing relation withsuch door opening as such position of registry is attained, a bracketupon the uppermost section of said door, a member pivoted to saidbracket and having a guide roller journalled therein, said guide rollerbeing disposed in said track, resilient means urging said pivoted memberangularly to maintain said uppermost door section away from such dooropening, means limiting the movement of said door section under the urgeof said resilient means, said limiting means being carried wholly uponsaid door and out of contact with said track, and means for angularlymoving said uppermost door section against the urge of said resilientmeans into sealing relation with such door opening coincidentally withthe movement of the door into registry with such opening.

6. A building having a door opening, a door having superposed hingedsections for closing such opening, a track for guiding the severalsections of said door from a horizontal open position above such openingto a substantially vertical position in a plane adjacent to suchopening, the plane of the uppermost door section being angular to theplane of the several lower sections of the door as the door approaches aposition of registry with such opening, means for deflecting the severallowersections of the door laterally into sealing relation with such dooropening as such position of registry is attained, a bracket upon theuppermost section of said door, a member pivoted to said bracket andhaving a guide roller journalled therein, said guide roller beingdisposed in said track, resilient means urging said pivoted memberintoaposition parallel to said track to urge said uppermost door section awayfrom such door opening, means limiting the movement of said door sectionunder the urge of said resilient means, said limiting means beingcarried wholly upon said door, and deflecting means disposed in the pathof said pivoted member and abutted thereby for angularly moving saiduppermost door section against the urge of said resilient means intosealing relation with such door opening coincidentally with the movementof the door into final registry with such opening.

7. A building having a door opening, a door having superposed hingedsections for closing such opening, a track for guiding the severalsections of said door from a horizontal open posi tion above suchopening to a substantially vertical position in a plane adjacent to suchopening, the plane of the uppermost door section being angular to theplane of the several lower sections of the door as the door approaches aposition of registry with such opening, means for deflecting the severallower sections of the door laterally into sealing relation with suchdoor opening as such position of registry is attained, a bracket uponthe uppermost section of said door, a member pivoted to said bracket andhaving a guide roller journalled therein, said guide roller beingdisposed in positive association with said track, resilient means urgingsaid uppermost door section and said pivoted member to swing toward oneanother to urge said door section away from such door opening towardsaid track, and means limiting the movement of said door section underthe urge of said resilient means, said limiting means being movable withsaid door, and means for angularly moving said uppermost door sectionagainst the urge of said resilient means into sealing relation with suchdoor opening coincidentally with the movement of the door into 7registry with such door opening.

8. A building having a door opening, a door having superposed hingedsections for closing such opening, a track for guiding the severalsections of said door from a horizontal open position above such openingto a substantially vertical position in a plane adjacent to suchopening, the plane of the uppermost door section being angular to theplane of the several lower sections of the door as the door approaches aposition of registry with such opening, means for deflecting the severallower sections of the door laterally into sealing relation with suchdoor opening as such position of registry is attained, a bracket uponthe uppermost section of said door, a member pivoted to said brackethaving a guide roller journalled in a section thereof and having anothersection projecting beyond said track, said guide roller beingindisplaceably disposed in said track, resilient means urging saidpivoted member angularly in one direction to urge said uppermost doorsection away from such door opening toward said track, means limitingthe movement of said door section under the urge of said resilientmeans, and means for angularly moving said uppermost door section intosealing relation with such opening and comprising guide meansindependent of said door and having a member disposed in the path ofmovement of the projecting section of said pivoted member to be engagedthereby during the final part of the movement of said door-into registrywith such opening to move said pivoted member in the opposite directionand to advance said door section angularly against the urge of saidresilient means.

9. A rolling door comprising a door opening, a track in juxtaposition tosaid door opening, a door comprising a plurality of hingedly connectedpanels, said panels being respectively hinged together along parallellines, a plurality of roller members adapted to roll in said track,flexible connection means associated with each of said roller members,said flexible connection means being attached at one end to the rollerand at the other end to the door and including means disposedtherebetween to permit the door panels to move toward and away from thetrack, spring means associated with the flexible connection means tonormally urge the door toward the track, a plurality of cam means, eachof said cam means being pivotally mounted in such a manner that the axisof rotation of said cam means bears a flxed relation to the track, eachof said cam means being adapted also to engage a predetermined panel ofthe door when the door is in juxtaposition to the door opening, and camactuating means, said cam actuating means being operated by the actionof the bottom panel of the door.

HARRY G. KELLY.

